A few questions about my new home setup..

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VonTreece

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Hey! So.. I have a few questions about my home setup.

I recently purchased an MXL 990 Condenser mic as well as a Focusrite 2i2 audio interface.

I apologize ahead of time as I'm not entirely sure how to explain this..
Anyway, I noticed that when I go to my computer's settings and click "playback this device", it only plays through my left speaker.
It's not a problem when using FL Studio or Logic, as I can just select the single channel and it also doesn't affect applications that only take mono like Skype.
However, in applications like TeamSpeak, It only plays through the left speaker and i'm unable to set it to mono.
Is there a way to make it so it plays through both? Sorry if this is a noob question.. but I guess this is the best place to ask.. haha

Also, could someone explain to me the difference between LINE and INST. I know that it affects the dB somehow but i'm not sure of the specifics. Which should I be using for my mic?

And finally, I'd like to EQ my voice live without using any programs or software.
Right now I currently have my mic directly plugged in to one of the inputs on my 2i2 via XLR and that's it.
Is it possible to instead hook my mic up to a small portable mixer of sorts and then have the mixer feed into the 2i2 and so on? How would I go about this?

I know these may be obvious questions but I didn't have anywhere else to turn.

Thanks!
 
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I haven't used TeamSpeak before, but it might be since it's a mono signal it automatically goes through the left speaker. I'm not sure how you would pan it in TeamSpeak. It might have to be done in the audio system preferences (assuming you have a mac). FL Studio and Logic understand that this is one channel and should be panned 50/50.

Look at page 10 of your manual to understand what line and insert is. There are pictures for you. do it... right now... I'll wait.

Yes, plug your mic into the mixer and depending on how the mixer works use the line out/aux out/main out/headphone out(last option) and go into the instrument in of the 2i2.

To answer the question of p. 10: Line is for microphone levels. Insert is for guitars, basses, keyboards, etc...
 
And welcome to Home Recording. Please ask any questions you can think of. But before you do, make sure you do a search. Many people have the exact same questions - even though it sounds like it will only pertain to your situation.
 
Awesome! Thank you very much for your reply!

As far as panning my mic goes, I tried doing it in system preferences, but audio is only going to the left still. I'm unable to balance it out.

78l6q.jpg


When I bring down the left speaker, I hear no audio playback at all.

78l83.jpg


I've also tried switching from 2 channel to 1 channel..

78l9i.jpg


but it says the format isn't supported by my device.

78lah.jpg


Is that what you meant?
 
VonTreece said:
Hey! So.. I have a few questions about my home setup.

I recently purchased an MXL 990 Condenser mic as well as a Focusrite 2i2 audio interface.

I apologize ahead of time as I'm not entirely sure how to explain this..
Anyway, I noticed that when I go to my computer's settings and click "playback this device", it only plays through my left speaker.
It's not a problem when using FL Studio or Logic, as I can just select the single channel and it also doesn't affect applications that only take mono like Skype.
However, in applications like TeamSpeak, It only plays through the left speaker and i'm unable to set it to mono.
Is there a way to make it so it plays through both? Sorry if this is a noob question.. but I guess this is the best place to ask.. haha

Also, could someone explain to me the difference between LINE and INST. I know that it affects the dB somehow but i'm not sure of the specifics. Which should I be using for my mic?

And finally, I'd like to EQ my voice live without using any programs or software.
Right now I currently have my mic directly plugged in to one of the inputs on my 2i2 via XLR and that's it.
Is it possible to instead hook my mic up to a small portable mixer of sorts and then have the mixer feed into the 2i2 and so on? How would I go about this?

I know these may be obvious questions but I didn't have anywhere else to turn.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

When you say " it only plays through my left speaker." what exactly is "it"? Have you tried listening to tunes through Windows Media Player or iTunes? They come out in just the left speaker? If so, it suggests a bad connection somewhere. If they play okay and you're talking about tracks from your recording software, then it's probably a track assignment issue. A nice way of saying operator error.

Line and Instr use different voltage levels. Instr is for guitars which put out much lower voltages than Line level. If you plug in a guitar and switch to Line, you would have problems hearing the guitar. Neither position have any affect on your mic if you are using the XLR connector (which you are). The switch is disabled when you plug in a mic.

You can use a mixer if you'd like. The Mains on the mixer would be line level voltages. With 1/4" cables, you can plug directly into the interface and switch to Line.

Welcome to the site.
 
Von (which I find funny, some of my friends call me that... my full title would be Von Jisser, and all the innuendoes that go along with that)-

I'm not a gamer, so I don't know how Teamspeak works. And I don't use Windows anymore, so I've forgotten/don't know anything about their new OS (i used to be an IT guy for windows95 and NT, but I've completely lost that knowledge in 20 years). Have you tried any of the gamer forums? A quick google search came up with some interesting results:
Sound through one Ear Piece/headphone
Make audio from Teamspeak come out of one ear

Anything I can do to try to find the info on teamspeak, you can do, so I'll leave it up to you now.
 
" Line is for microphone levels. Insert is for guitars, basses, keyboards, etc."

Where does it say that Citizen? In this jargon ridden game words are very important and we must have them right.

Microphones go into microphone inputs. Almost always XLR and balanced. Input impedance generally 1 to 2 kOhms. All but the cheapest devices will provide phantom power at 48volts (beware, some older mixers give less). Has high gain.

Keyboards, active basses/guitars can go into a line input. This is usually balanced (not the 2i2 tho', I don't think). Impedance should be >20k balanced, >10k unbalanced. Gain medium to unity.

Passive basses/guitars go into an Instrument input (often aka "Hi-Z). Impedance should be 1meg Ohm (that's a million of the lil' fellas) but anything 100k and up will be fine. Gain SHOULD be medium to low but is often made too high and with poor headroom.
There is no reason why such an input cannot be used for keyboards, drum machines etc IF it has the headroom.

An "INSERT" is a different beast entirely. It is both an input AND an output and is rarely found on AIs or the cheaper mixers. Its primary role is to allow some piece of "outboard" equipment such as a compressor or reverb unit to be connected into the recording chain. They can also be use to "pinch" a signal pre the channel fader.

To the OP. Yes, you CAN use a small mixer to EQ the mic before it hits the LINE INPUTS of the 2i2. It has to be said that modern practice is to record "dry" (i.e. no reverb, no compression) and "flat", i.e.no EQ because if you are running 24bits at 44.1kHz and tracking at -18dBFS as you should be you will have plenty of Dynamic Range to play with to add anything you want to the track later (keep a virgo intacta copy!) .

Sorry for all the "technicals" but you learn this stuff or "die"!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
" Line is for microphone levels. Insert is for guitars, basses, keyboards, etc."

Where does it say that Citizen? In this jargon ridden game words are very important and we must have them right.
Click to expand...

My fault! I miscommunicated.

I googled the manual and found the diagram on page 10 to double check. Technical jargon can get confusing, so the pictures left no doubt in the writers/editors intension and there was no keyboard in the example. The worst part of it was that I miscommunicated something very basic (keyboards should NOT be in the inserts! (which was the 2nd sentence from the bottom of the manual) and as you said active electronics....

I humbly stand corrected.

Maybe I should have said something like, "Make sure you keep your phantom power turned on all the time. To make sure it's working properly, plug and unplug your mic about 10 times in a row to double check it's on. If you've got loud, annoying pops, it's got power. That's how all the pros do it."

(don't ever do that, and don't let interns unplug your mics until after they've turned off the phantom power.... I just had my Millennia shipped to fix the fried protection diodes.)
 
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citizen77 said:
My fault! I miscommunicated.

I googled the manual and found the diagram on page 10 to double check. Technical jargon can get confusing, so the pictures left no doubt in the writers/editors intension and there was no keyboard in the example. The worst part of it was that I miscommunicated something very basic (keyboards should NOT be in the inserts! (which was the 2nd sentence from the bottom of the manual) and as you said active electronics....

I humbly stand corrected.

Maybe I should have said something like, "Make sure you keep your phantom power turned on all the time. To make sure it's working properly, plug and unplug your mic about 10 times in a row to double check it's on. If you've got loud, annoying pops, it's got power. That's how all the pros do it."

(don't ever do that, and don't let interns unplug your mics until after they've turned off the phantom power.... I just had my Millennia shipped to fix the fried protection diodes.)
Click to expand...

No worries Cit! We all cockup at sometime. Then there is always the dreaded typo waiting to pounce! Sometimes they are just hilarious, sometimes Freudian!

I trust that unit gets PROPER protection fitted! Diodes in front ends should never be buggered by phantom power HOWEVER it is misapplied!

Dave.
 
I just got my Millennia back today. Left outside my door in 30 below Fahrenheit weather for who knows how long.... A $4000 piece of gear, left in the snow?!?!?!?!? Thanks UPS man.
 
citizen77 said:
I just got my Millennia back today. Left outside my door in 30 below Fahrenheit weather for who knows how long.... A $4000 piece of gear, left in the snow?!?!?!?!? Thanks UPS man.
Click to expand...
FOUR! FREAKING! K! And it went wrong???? I have NEVER read of a piece of Behringer kit that failed due to blown input devices. I have been associated with some dozen different guitar amplifier designs which employ protection diodes and in 4years have never had one back with that fault. I would say there is an inherent design error in that pre amp and I would get in touch and make sure it has been corrected. I do hope they paid shipping and insurance BOTH ways!

Oh! And no decent piece of electronics will bothered by sub zero temperatures...Might not work to specc' or at all! But once warmed up all should be fine.

Dave.
 
It's a HV-3D - 8 channels of clean goodness. I've got 12 channels to work with if I need my two other hv-3c's. You wouldn't believe how many channels you need to record an organ. Fantasie und Fuge uber den Choral Ad nos ad salutarem undam - Franz Liszt - YouTube I think I used only 10 on this one.... Unfortunately, this was before I purchased the new 8 channel Millennia. So I used some John Hardy's, a FMR RNP, hv-3c's and the pre's on my FME UFX. It's a mobile setup to get where I need to.

Channel two that went out. According to the invoice, PAM went bad (arhh, i never really liked her anyway). But no, I didn't pay for shipping, it was still under warranty.

With high-end gear, they usually expect people to treat it like it deserves. So I assume they remove all the "safety" circuitry to keep the signal pure. It was my fault it went out though, if I don't watch my little helpers and they get too excited to tear down a gig... sometimes mics get pulled without the phantom being turned off.

I've heard some really good things about Behringer, especially since they purchased Midas. The only Behringer gear I have I bought used for the chassis and some less important meters to build a 1176LN clone. It was one of their cheap starved-tube products, so no big loss.
 
"With high-end gear, they usually expect people to treat it like it deserves. So I assume they remove all the "safety" circuitry to keep the signal pure."

Well, It is possible that a piece of static, "domestic" audiophool gear might need cossetting but "knockabout" recording equipment that can have anything plugged into any whichway should be as bombproof as possible.

Microphone inputs are generally protected either by diodes biased off by the supply rails or back to back zeners. Neither of these devices will have any effect on the normal signal level because they are open circuit unless the input signal reaches several volts.

From a "professional" point of view, don't matter HOW good something sounds, if it don't bloody work it is useless crap!
I take a leaf from the combat pistol boy's manual. No good having flea's arse accuracy if the bugger jams!

Dave.
 
It seems to be a recurring issue that podcast/streaming/chat apps look for a stereo input.
We've had a few people come through here saying that their mic is being piped out the left channel only.

If system sounds and your DAW are playing out through left and right then I guess you're having the above problem.

The work arounds I've suggested in the past are:
  • Look for software without this limitation
  • Use a little mixer as an active splitter (mic to mixer + left and right output to interface line inputs)
  • Use a virtual routing app to the same effect (soundflower/jack)
The last option may or may not be feasible on Microsoft OS. I'm not sure.
Since you want live eq without using software, the mixer option is a no brainer.
 
Steenamaroo said:
It seems to be a recurring issue that podcast/streaming/chat apps look for a stereo input.
We've had a few people come through here saying that their mic is being piped out the left channel only.

If system sounds and your DAW are playing out through left and right then I guess you're having the above problem.

The work arounds I've suggested in the past are:
  • Look for software without this limitation
  • Use a little mixer as an active splitter (mic to mixer + left and right output to interface line inputs)
  • Use a virtual routing app to the same effect (soundflower/jack)
The last option may or may not be feasible on Microsoft OS. I'm not sure.
Since you want live eq without using software, the mixer option is a no brainer.
Click to expand...

I shall ride my usual hobby horse here and say... ALL music peeps should be able to handle a solder iron! Making up an XLR splitter lead is beer into water. Thus you feed BOTH mic inputs.

The very obvious solution is to cause the DAW software to record one input as "double mono" but the only one that does that with any ease AFAIK is Samplitude.

Dave.
 
I was sceptical about recommending DIY splits since he's using an MXL990 and phantom power is usually a global switch on smaller interfaces.
I don't know the implications (if any) of bridging the inputs like that.

Even if it is safe, it wont get him hardware eq.
 
ecc83 said:
Microphone inputs are generally protected either by diodes biased off by the supply rails or back to back zeners. Neither of these devices will have any effect on the normal signal level because they are open circuit unless the input signal reaches several volts.

From a "professional" point of view, don't matter HOW good something sounds, if it don't bloody work it is useless crap!
I take a leaf from the combat pistol boy's manual. No good having flea's arse accuracy if the bugger jams!

Dave.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I've been building pre's and compressors and reading books to understand how electronics work, but it's more like "paint by numbers" at this stage. I feel like if I understand how something works at it's most fundamental level, it will help me understand and use gear more effectively or why certain gear have their characteristics.

On all the "good" "professional" gear I own or use, all the manuals state never to unplug a mic with the phantom on. Than again, I think I've read that in any preamp manual.

I guess turning off the phantom power is like brushing your teeth everyday: you don't have to, but it's not your teethes fault if you get a cavity... just as it's not the gears fault if I or someone else doesn't turn off the phantom power.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I was sceptical about recommending DIY splits since he's using an MXL990 and phantom power is usually a global switch on smaller interfaces.
I don't know the implications (if any) of bridging the inputs like that.

Even if it is safe, it wont get him hardware eq.
Click to expand...

Always wise to be cautious! The 48V will come from a common source therefore the voltage at each mic input will be exactly the same and therefore no net current can flow and no current means no power means no harm.

But yes, you are right, no EQ and a small mixer is a much more elegant solution.

Dave.
 
citizen77 said:
Good to know. I've been building pre's and compressors and reading books to understand how electronics work, but it's more like "paint by numbers" at this stage. I feel like if I understand how something works at it's most fundamental level, it will help me understand and use gear more effectively or why certain gear have their characteristics.

On all the "good" "professional" gear I own or use, all the manuals state never to unplug a mic with the phantom on. Than again, I think I've read that in any preamp manual.

I guess turning off the phantom power is like brushing your teeth everyday: you don't have to, but it's not your teethes fault if you get a cavity... just as it's not the gears fault if I or someone else doesn't turn off the phantom power.
Click to expand...

There is what the manufacturers (or really their lawyers!) say and then there is what everybody DOES!

If you go back just a few years we were all told that ALL audio/computer cables must be connected with all power OFF! WTF does that now? We gaily lob USB devices of all sorts in and out of the machines, "hot plug" headphones. HDMI conns! There was at one time a VERY serious problem with hot plugging Firewire gear. Never a word about it now.

The ONLY problem that should occur if you connect/diss a mic with spook juice running is a massive PLOP! in the monitors (or the PA guy's cans! You WILL be popular!) . This is "not nice" and can, in rare circumstances, damage speakers so ALL conns, etherial or nay should be done with master faders down.

If you have a VERY unfortunate fault state on a mic cable then ribbon mics might be damaged but a guy on another forum worked for the BBC for years and +48V was present, permanently on all mic line and he said he had never seen or heard of a Coles 4038 being damaged in that way.

I don't condone sloppy or careless working but gear should be protected as far as is practical...***T'Appen!

Dave.
 
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